DO NOT LEGALISE URBAN 10 seater HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES IN COUNTY LOUTH

Drogheda in County Louth is planning to have Horse-drawn carriages in the future if they are approved by the Drogheda Borough Council. Also a set of draft bye-laws still have to be passed to facilitate the stopping and picking up of passengers on the streets of the town and its surrounds.

The draft byelaws are on the Louth County Council website until 4th April.

In a town where driving and parking is a nightmare due to very heavy traffic this appears to be an ill-conceived idea. Horses and heavy traffic do not mix well. In a time when many countries and cities have banned Horse – drawn carriages this move to start up the trade is archaic and devoid of any animal welfare considerations or research.

>Forcing horses to pull oversized loads isn’t romantic—it’s cruel.

Horses are forced to toil in all weather extremes, dodge heavy traffic, and pound the pavement all day long. These gentle animals suffer from respiratory ailments because they breathe in exhaust fumes, and they develop debilitating leg problems from walking on hard surfaces. Horses are extremely sensitive to loud noises and unexpected sounds—and busy city streets have plenty of both. Horses and people have been seriously hurt—with some injuries resulting in fatalities—when horses have become spooked and run amok.

Income generated by this cruel trade will be minimal when offset by street cleaning, enforcement issues and opposition to horses being forced to carry heavy loads with carriages already planned to transport 10 people.

According to research in the USA many tourists do not approve of Carriages using horses and prefer more up to date transport.

Drogheda Borough Council in accordance with Part 19 of the Local Government Act, 2001 gives notice that it proposes to make bye-laws for the control of horse drawn hackney carriages upon expiry of not less than two months from the publication of this notice, within the boundary of Drogheda Borough Council.

The draft bye-laws are available for inspection, or a copy is available free of charge during normal office hours from the Drogheda Borough Council Offices, Fair Street & Boyne Centre, Drogheda, County Louth in the period from Wednesday 5th March 2014 up to and including 4th April 2014, or may be downloaded fromwww.louthcoco.ie